By Biblestudycompany.com Ric Joyner
We will state upfront that Christmas is not a biblical holiday. But it is not unbiblical to celebrate the birth of Christ. We should also not equalize Christmas with the advent of our Savior. The Old Testament prophesized over the birth of the Savior to come. The current secular traditions of Santa, with almost God-like qualities and manipulating kids to "further fantasize" a jolly old man who can give all children on earth toys and an "elf on the shelf" that watches how they behave, is unbiblical. Still, some feel it is acceptable to create a myth around Santa Claus while children are young. We disagree. It is always best to be honest with children about Santa. Giving presents at this time of the year is not wrong because the Magi gave Christ's family gifts in worship to the young boy Messiah, who helped the family with the expenses of fleeing to Egypt. Consumerism and greed are wrong and sinful, but only the Holy Spirit can lead you to that truth, and He knows your heart.
Frustration mounts as we approach this time of year in the Christmas season. Screams of "Christmas is pagan" escalate into a crescendo with arguments against Christmas on social media and by some bible teachers. Could this be a veiled attack on the Gospel in the name of "we don't want to be idolators"?
Let's take a look. Please reread these scriptures prayerfully as we begin our biblical study.
Matthew Chapters 1-2 highlights
"30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation, 31 Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32 A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES, And the glory of Your people Israel."
Luke Chapters 1 and 2. Pay attention to what the angels say a couple of times: "Good news," translated as the same word… Gospel. The birth of Christ was good news for Jews because their long-awaited Messiah was finally here, and the prophecy was fulfilled. We write this paper 2,000 years later for Gentiles, grateful that the apostles preached the Gospel to us: Good news: Christ came as a child to break the back of sin and death and allowed us Gentiles an eternal "home" and become children of God! Gentiles are not part of the nation of Israel, but we are part of God's family! (Eph Chap 1-4) We celebrate the birth of Christ because of the Gospel!
Read John 1 for a view from heaven of why Christ came.
"9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the intention of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us. We saw His glory as the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John testified about Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.'" 16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. 17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him."
If it is, then are you a pagan for celebrating the Day of Christ's birth? The historical false proof that Christmas is pagan is thrown at you with overwhelming emotional authoritarianism. Is emotionalism based on biblical truth? How about historical facts? We know the origin of Christmas (birth of Christ) is biblical. The story of our Savior starts with His birth because the prophets mentioned He was coming. We suspect the anti-Christmas vehemence is agenda-driven. We ask this question because born-again believing Christians are not worshipping pagan deities by participating in the birth of Christ called Christmas today. I spoke to a Torah-keeping brother who said, "Yes, Christmas is pagan." I asked how that could be, and he shared, "When you put a present under the tree, you are 'bowing' down to the tree." I was stunned. The logic he displayed defied logic. Yeah, no. Worshipping a pagan deity requires one to engage the diety knowingly.
In our research, there were pagan celebrations that started around the time of 274 AD, but they appear to be in response to Christians in Rome celebrating the birth of Christ! We then ask what came first, the "chicken or the egg?" "However, it has also been argued that, on the contrary, Emperor Aurelian, who in 274 instituted the holiday of the Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, did so partly as an attempt to give a pagan significance to a date already important for Christians in Rome.[76]
Is the nearness of a pagan holiday make Christmas pagan? When I sift through the concerns of 'Christmas is pagan,' people, did you know there was a pagan holiday at this time? We will deal with this later, but does that make celebrating the birth of Christ pagan today? Let's ask another question: Is Hanukkah pagan? The answer is no. Yet, Hanukkah is square in the middle of this pagan holiday called Saturnalia. The true church pushed hard against these wicked holidays, and to assume born-again believers were participating in pagan festivals doesn't make much sense since Christians had to live outside of society for several hundred years because of severe persecution.
Calling Christmas pagan because of the nearness of the same period of a pagan holiday would be the same as calling Easter (the resurrection of Christ) and Passover pagan. The proximity does not work because a pagan spring festival may happen simultaneously.
We can confidently say that born-again believers would not have observed a pagan holiday and dishonored our Lord Jesus Christ, who rescued us from sin and death. Born-again believers do not participate in pagan rituals today, and Christmas is about the birth of Christ.
Conclusion. We will focus on the birth of Christ currently and not conflate the past to today.
"Certainly today, the mix of consumerism (AKA Santa Claus) can take people's eyes off Christ, but our job is to bring them back to the salvation message of the Gospel. Will you join us?" BSC.
Note: In our extensive research, we stumbled upon a Wikipedia article. We usually would bypass Wikipedia as higher education frowns on the use of Wikipedia; however, this article has stood the test of time (2001) and is updated continually, even in 2021. Once you dive into the article, you will see the extent and expanse of the research on Christmas.
"Got you, Biblestudycompany…see, Christmas is pagan". Well, no, and not so fast. This Wikipedia article on Christmas is excellent and thorough for a balanced perspective.
Here are some highlights:
"Christmas" is a shortened form of "Christ's mass." The word was recorded as Crīstesmæsse in 1038 and Cristes-messe in 1131.[22] Crīst (genitive Crīstes) is from Greek Khrīstos (Χριστός), a translation of Hebrew Māšîaḥ (מָשִׁיחַ), "Messiah," meaning "anointed";[23][24] and mæsse is from Latin missa, the celebration of the Eucharist.[25]”
"December 25 was the winter solstice date in the Roman calendar.[16][53] A late fourth-century sermon by Saint Augustine explains why this was a fitting day to celebrate Christ's nativity: "Hence it is that He was born on the Day which is the shortest in our earthly reckoning and from which subsequent days begin to increase in length. He, therefore, who bent low and lifted us chose the shortest Day, yet the one whence Light begins to increase." [54]
We conclude by the historical facts that the Roman Catholic Church did not exist at the beginning of Christian recognition of the birth of Christ.
"The Roman Emperor Constantine established himself as the head of the church around 313 A.D., which made this new "Christianity" the Roman Empire's official religion. The first actual Pope in Rome was probably Leo I (440-461 A.D.), although some claim that Gregory I was the first (Pope) (590-604 A.D.). This ungodly system eventually ushered in the darkest period known to man, called the "Dark Ages" (500-1500 A.D.). Through popes, bishops, and priests, Satan ruled Europe, and Biblical Christianity became illegal."
"And therefore, we should not celebrate the birth of Christ." We would say, "Tell that to the angels engaging the shepherds because heaven celebrated the birth of God's Son!" Luke 2:2-14
"And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were frightened. 10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 "This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." 13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."
Note: the words Good News are translated from Greek
Original word: εὐαγγελίζω
Transliteration: euaggelizó
Definition (short): preach
Description (complete): to announce good news
Yep, evangelize during Christmas. There are hurting hearts at this time of the year, and many blindly celebrate a holiday not connected to Christ's birth. Let us help people relate it to Christ, our Savior.
If not Christmas, what should we celebrate instead? We should celebrate Hanukkah to return to our Jewish roots. Hanukkah was not part of the Gospel, and the birth of Christ IS part of the Gospel.
We encourage everyone everywhere to ask God whether one should participate in the celebration of the birth of Christ. We say YES! We can confidently push back on anti-Christmas and anti-birth of Christ people with correct historical and biblical facts.
During this time of the year, people are open to the Gospel for nearly one month. Do we let this opportunity slide through our fingers? In Matthew 28, our commission is to go and make disciples. To make a disciple, we must present the Gospel first. Will we waste our time arguing over the birth of Christ, whether it is pagan or not? To this, we say that people saying Christmas or the celebration of the birth of Christ is pagan are avoiding the Gospel! Why? Who in the spiritual realm attacks the Gospel and wants it destroyed? Satan. Think about this tidbit. Imagine a worldwide focus on Christmas, even in Buddhist countries. Why not present the Gospel at this time of the year? As Paul said, his focus was on getting people reconciled to God. (2Cor 5:18-21)
"15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel." The Accuser is bound and determined to use people, even with good intentions, to stop the message of the Gospel of Salvation. We use the word accusation intentionally because people who celebrate traditional Christmas are called pagans. A severe charge but, fortunately, untrue.
God is a God of prophecy. He wants us to know what is coming. He answered His word and has "healing in His wings" to "reconcile us to God." There are no other holy books that contain prophetic words fulfilled!
Every Christmas season is a literal miracle that this holiday (holy Day) is focused worldwide on Jesus Christ, our Savior. Even the Wikipedia article acknowledges this undeniable fact.
Therefore, let us turn aside from the poor handling of scripture and agenda-driven history "facts" and focus on the birth of Christ and sharing the Good news of His coming to rescue us from our sin, thus giving us eternal life without works and fear in the blood of Christ!
What can you and your family do to share the love of Christ with a hurting world this Christmas season? Here is one video that touches our hearts when we watch it.
Feel free to share the resources.
Melton, James. "The Plain Truth about the Roman Catholic Church." biblebelievers.com. Bible Baptist Publications, 1998. https://biblebelievers.com/jmelton/Catholic.html.
Wikipedia Contributors. "Christmas." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, October 31, 2001. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas.
———. "Christmas." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, October 31, 2001. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas
William Federer: There is a Santa Claus - History of Saint Nicholas & Christmas Holiday Traditions
by Amazon.com Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0965355748/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_QVM4MJF835RK35KMWAHR
Christmas has nothing to do with paganism: Red pen logic
Was December 25 the date of Christ's birth? The Greek Orthodox church thinks so.
Mike Winger on Christmas:
1. Is Christmas PAGAN? In defense of Christmas
3. Stop Twisting Jeremiah 10 Because It's Not About Christmas Trees
4. Alisa Childers on Christmas
5. For the extensive history of Christmas with the discussion of the dates for the birth of Christ, God Became Incarnate James Quiggle by Amazon.com
Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/149918669X/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_AR6NEZ6XB0TPZ5N1VB90
6. The star of Bethlehem is an excellent movie on the astronomical view of the star. https://youtu.be/55VRdLnkvDw
Playlist of videos that will go step by step
Article On how to study the Bible from BSC step by step
Article by Dr. Baruch on how to study the Bible
Article on how numbers play a role in Bible Study
Blog article and podcast on how we learned to study the Bible with Dr. Baruch
See full post & commentsThis prayer is a guide and biblically based. All a person needs to do is cry out to God in their own words. If you are not sure how to pray, please use this as a guide.
To have a relationship with God versus religion, pray this prayer sincerely and in your own words.
Dear Heavenly Father, (Matt. 6:9) I want a relationship with You...not a religion. I come to You and open my heart. (John 3:16) I will be honest and sincere with You. (John 4) I am running my life and need Your help. (Matt. 6:10) I am made in Your image (Gen 1:26, 27), and I won't be happy until I am in a relationship with you. (Gen. 3) Most of my behavior does not please You. (Romans 3:23) I know I am a sinner, so please forgive my sins because of Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who came to die for my sins. (John 3:16) His death on the cross is the punishment I should receive, but You were gracious to die in my place through Christ. By faith, I place all of my past, present, and future sins on Christ. I believe Jesus Christ is my Savior, and salvation is a gift! I know I cannot earn my way to heaven by being good through good works. (Eph. 2:8) You did this so I can be in a relationship with You on earth and for all eternity. (Romans 10:9-13) And I will forgive those who have sinned or hurt me because you have forgiven me. Take away any bitterness or resentment I carry toward You or other people. (Matt. 6:13-14) Please show and teach me how to live a praiseworthy life on earth to You starting today. (Matt. 6:33, Acts 9 and 10) I ask you to be in my heart, as Paul said in Ephesians 3:17. I know that You love me, Father, and I want to love You and that you have a purpose and plan for my life. I accept You as my Lord and Savior. Lord, because You gave me breath in my lungs and Savior, because you paid my sin debt. Please teach me to pray. (Matt. 6:9) Thank You, Jesus, for saving me to Yourself (Ex. 19:1-8) and making me a new person! (2 Cor. 5:17) In the name of Jesus, I pray, Amen!
Learn to grow at www.biblestudycompany.com, Grace Bible Church, and Christ Community Church.
See full post & commentsWhat is Biblical Faith? Part 2 IMPACT show is about the gift of Faith God gives us to be obedient to His will. The answer to the question: “What is Biblical Faith?” It is obedience to God's Word. Podcast for Pewsitters has guests from One flesh 4 Jesus, Erin, and Pete Janus discussing Biblical Faith and the IMPACT of asking for God’s Kingdom to come in their lives, they had no ideas this prayer would turn their world upside down. Will it yours? Join us for Podcast for Pewsitters Biblical Faith IMPACT!
How shall we start in faith? Fortunately, we have 66 books that help us know God's will. We are created by God, to serve Him. He is loving and allows us to go our own way. Faith brings us to Christ through repentance of our sin. Pewsitters then walk in obedience to God's word. We search the scriptures so we will know what pleases our King if we are going to be Kingdom people. People of biblical faith then are those who choose to study God's word and apply it so that His plans and purposes are revealed in their lives and then to those around them. The presence of God is a precious thing and we want to walk with Him in obedience. We want to KNOW Christ and He was obedient to His Father's will. Let's walk in His power! Join us for this interesting and inspiring podcast.
Our First Annual User Conference for 2019 is in July 26,27 Cleveland TN. Here is the link.
For Search Engines: There are many bible verses about love, and there are many bible verse of the day programs. The holy bible provides this remarkable bible commentary. Bible Study and online bible study are available at biblestudycompany.com. Bible verses of faith are of interest as well. Even bible verses about hope are helpful. Bible verses about women are encouraging. Read the Bible online with biblestudycompany.com. We will all do better when love is patient love is kind. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me in times of trouble. With daily bible devotions, I grow. The gifts of the holy spirit are for every day. Online bible study is so helpful. biblestudycompany is a free online bible. With so many books of the bible, I can grow. We love inspirational bible verses in daily Bible reading.
See full post & commentsWe all have heard about Faith. But can you define it? That is the challenge. Interested in taking the challenge to find out what BIBLICAL FAITH IS? Our mission at bible study company.com is to study scripture to find out how to obey God. The bible says in Heb 11:6 it is impossible to please God without faith! We had better get this right! Join us for Podcast for Pewsitters discussion with guests Laurie and Mark Lorentz on taking the challenge "What is biblical faith?"
As Mary and I have studied Exodus, we noticed that the children of Israel died in the wilderness! They saw the judgment that God brought against Egypt to free them from their bondage. They saw the miracles that God did in caring for them in the wilderness. Yet, they all died there with God angry at them. How do we know this? Hebrews 3:10 says; "THEREFORE I WAS ANGRY WITH THIS GENERATION, AND SAID, 'THEY ALWAYS GO ASTRAY IN THEIR HEART, AND THEY DID NOT KNOW MY WAYS'; This brought the fear of God into our minds and hearts. Why? Because if they believed on the Passover lamb to save them from Egypt and we believe on Jesus Christ as our Passover lamb can we suffer the same fate as they did? It appears that even though they saw God's provisions and were given His laws they chose not to study them to get to know the God of the Universe. WOW! We had better pay attention to the lessons contained in the Bible. Abram did the opposite. He obeyed God. But we must act on His word. Isn't this what the Children of Israel faced as well? Faith is obedience to God's word. That is why we are studying and applying it. If it weren't for His work in our lives, an eternal home is nonexistent! But we have hope in Jesus Christ We want to live a praiseworthy life to God. We please Him by trusting in Him even when we can't see through the trials. Join Ric and Mary Joyner in a podcast for pewsitters.
The challenge document: https://adobe.ly/2CgDzk9
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For Search Engines: There are many bible verses about love, and there are many bible verse of the day programs. The holy bible provides this remarkable bible commentary. Bible Study and online bible study are available at biblestudycompany.com. Bible verses of faith are of interest as well. Even bible verses about hope are helpful. Bible verses about women are encouraging. Read the Bible online with biblestudycompany.com. We will all do better when love is patient love is kind. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me in times of trouble. With daily bible devotions, I grow. The gifts of the holy spirit are for every day. Online bible study is so helpful. biblestudycompany is a free online bible. With so many books of the bible, I can grow. We love inspirational bible verses in daily Bible reading.
See full post & commentsCALLING ALL PODCAST FOR PEWSITTERS LISTENERS! We have a challenge for you. We are encouraging husbands and wives to study together and if not married grab someone. Watch this video:
For Search Engines: There are many bible verses about love, and there are many bible verse of the day programs. The holy bible provides this remarkable bible commentary. Bible Study and online bible study are available at biblestudycompany.com. Bible verses of faith are of interest as well. Even bible verses about hope are helpful. Bible verses about women are encouraging. Read the Bible online with biblestudycompany.com. We will all do better when love is patient love is kind. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me in times of trouble. With daily bible devotions, I grow. The gifts of the holy spirit are for every day. Online bible study is so helpful. biblestudycompany is a free online bible. With so many books of the bible, I can grow. We love inspirational bible verses in daily Bible reading.
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Exodus Chapter 3 Part 1 is a pivot point in the Exodus story of the Holy Bible. We are at the time and place that God is acting on fulfilling prophecy or rather a promise to Abraham 400 years before! God speaks and it happens. This is how we know the Bible is true! Prophecy is inherently related to the fulfillment of something God says will happen. Our God means what He says and as Kingdom people, we want to respond to His will and look to the reasons God is speaking, and for what purposes and to whom, and if there are outcomes our Savior is looking to create. The sons of Israel are in dire straits within Egypt. God is listening to their heart cries. Let us respond to His ways. Join our online bible study through our podcast for pewsitters.
Do you know we are in a time of prophetic fulfillment for the last days? How can we line up with what God is doing? Let’s take a look at how Moses is responding to being confronted by God with an interesting sign…a burning bush! How can we respond as Moses did? Our bible study will focus on why the children of Israel are in the wilderness, and why there are applications for us today! The wilderness is dependence on God. The Hebrew word for wilderness contains the word DBAR. This word is used many times when God speaks. In fact, it is a name for God. Yahweh Speaks. Our Lord wants us to obey His word and will speak to us when we desire to get under His rule in our lives. Join Ric and Mary Joyner for Podcast for pewsitters to learn lessons from the burning bush.
Add our podcast to your daily Bible devotions. Grab your favorite beverage and join our bible commentary and community.
Bible study Company.com is a free online study bible. It allows you to read the bible online and study to respond to God.
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Join us for our first user conference with Dr. Baruch Korman of Loveisrael.org this summer July 26. 27 https://www.biblestudycompany.com/blog/article/97
For Search Engines: There are many bible verses about love, and there are many bible verse of the day programs. The holy bible provides this remarkable bible commentary. Bible Study and online bible study are available at biblestudycompany.com. Bible verses of faith are of interest as well. Even bible verses about hope are helpful. Bible verses about women are encouraging. Read the Bible online with biblestudycompany.com. We will all do better when love is patient love is kind. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me in times of trouble. With daily bible devotions, I grow. The gifts of the holy spirit are for every day. Online bible study is so helpful. biblestudycompany is a free online bible. With so many books of the bible, I can grow. We love inspirational bible verses in daily Bible reading.
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Ever feel pummeled? That life is throwing circumstances at you? Could these be trials and tests? If we put ourselves under the Kingdom of God seeking His will and to be pleasing to our King then these are indeed for our good. But what if we react wrongly or make a bad decision? What if a series of events start that you can’t stop and perhaps people reject you? Is God in this with you? This podcast is about Ric and Mary Joyner going through a pummeling time. Moses in Exodus 2 Part 5 has made a horrible decision to help God save the Hebrew people from Egypt. A major life change happens as a result. Ric and Mary experience several major life changes that hurt! Ever felt like this? Moses goes from “top of the world” to what appears to be the lowest job on Earth, and a new family, culture and leaving loved ones behind. This is painful, this is disorientating, this is sad. How will he ever recover? God is with Him. He is with us. Listen or watch with Ric and Mary how God moves for those who love Him and want to be Kingdom people. The bible study principle: "The Holy Bible invades our life" is real. We believe that God uses circumstances to reinforce what we are studying and thus is the reason for the pummeling! So the Lord is allowing you to experience the lessons of Scripture! And in the next few podcasts we will show you how this principle is working with people who decide to study the Holy Bible together especially as husband and wife.
For Search Engines: There are many bible verses about love, and there are many bible verse of the day programs. The holy bible provides this remarkable bible commentary. Bible Study and online bible study are available at biblestudycompany.com. Bible verses of faith are of interest as well. Even bible verses about hope are helpful. Bible verses about women are encouraging. Read the Bible online with biblestudycompany.com. We will all do better when love is patient love is kind. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me in times of trouble. With daily bible devotions, I grow. The gifts of the holy spirit are for every day. Online bible study is so helpful. biblestudycompany is a free online bible. With so many books of the bible, I can grow. We love inspirational bible verses in daily Bible reading.
See full post & commentsRevival comes when people in the Church decide sin is not more attractive than obedience to God’s word. (Repentance) Here is the problem in the church; many people that say they love God are going through the motions and not reading the bible to obey it. This then gives an opportunity to the enemy of our souls. Porn in the church is a horrible sin. Revivals that start don’t last if they are based on emotions, and “signs and wonders” seeking. Getting serious about sin and God's rule in our life is where our hearts and minds must focus. Not feeling it? Then ask for help. Honesty with God and face down in repentance will start a revival in our hearts. This then will encourage others to search for this “new heart” of revival. These are the revivals that last. Biblestudycompany.com
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Prayer is vital when studying the Bible. We are appealing to the Holy Spirit for guidance. He is always working for the glory of God. Changing our position from studying the Bible to gain knowledge to obedience is crucial. We can go on to step 2 which is a prayer for the Holy Spirit to open up Scripture to us for the plans and purposes of God. We then respond by aligning ourselves with what He reveals.
Too often we "read over" passages we don't understand. He will reveal We are God's creation and He wants us to know His will. But, will we choose to pray for His understanding and then our obedience? We are like most people. We studied the bible to benefit ourselves. Our lives dramatically changed when we started to study to OBEY GOD. Christ laid down His will for God's Will. Will we? God will show us His purpose for our lives and give us the power to obey. Our lives will radically transform into becoming a disciple. A disciple is one who obeys the word of God. When you study, pray for the Holy Spirit to guide you. Here is a promise in 1 John 2:27
"As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him."
Join Ric and Mary Joyner in bible study step 2: Prayer and obedience
Please help us keep the bible study company free. Support us at http://bit.ly/2RL9zTm
For Search Engines: There are many bible verses about love, and there are many bible verse of the day programs. The holy bible provides this remarkable bible commentary. Bible Study and online bible study are available at biblestudycompany.com. Bible verses of faith are of interest as well. Even bible verses about hope are helpful. Bible verses about women are encouraging. Read the Bible online with biblestudycompany.com. We will all do better when love is patient love is kind. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me in times of trouble. With daily bible devotions, I grow. The gifts of the holy spirit are for every day. Online bible study is so helpful. biblestudycompany is a free online bible. With so many books of the bible, I can grow. We love inspirational bible verses in daily Bible reading.
See full post & commentsWe all know the story. In fact, the whole world knows this story. As those who are genuinely heart-set on being a disciple of His and are sincerely sorry for our sin, we know the REAL meaning of Christmas. Christ had one mission, and that was to take God’s wrath for our sin. Not a pretty sight to think about at this time of year, is it? But once we do grasp this truth, we can be grateful in watching His life as He grew up and in being observant we can see what He did and how Christ used the word of God to combat and point out unrepentant sin.
Before you wake up to Santa coming, and then open your gifts, look at One that doesn’t look like a present, but is the PRESENCE of God Almighty come to earth as a child to die for us. Seriously, we had no hope of eternal life without Jesus Christ’s brutal criminal’s death and payment of our sins.
Mary and I were studying the Bible in Exodus where the tabernacle building instructions were given to Moses. We were reading about the making of the bronze altar. To us, this seemed brutal to kill an innocent animal for our sin and was offensive to us. I had a thought interrupt my thoughts: “I am offended at you.” Whoa, that set me back on my heels! I sensed the context though was in love. The offense was our sin. The solution was Him. Then another thought crossed: “If the lamb was to be without blemish why was Christ brutally beaten?” This thought so perplexed me that I sat in wonderment of the question. I said: “Yes, that is true. How then can Jesus Christ be our “Passover lamb”? Answer: “He was sinless and thus without blemish.” “Ah…then ok. But then Lord, why was He brutally beaten like a criminal?” Answer: “Because people are criminals before God because of our sin.” And this type of punishment was used during Roman times when slaves started to rebel. As the rebellion of the servant continued the discipline ramped up to the viciousness, we saw meted out to Jesus…our babe in the manger. No one but God could take the wrath of God, someone said. Feel free to let that sink in. (As an aside; we were created for Him to serve Him and by default are His servants…but many of us don’t act like we are. We are rebellious toward God’s Word and Will and deserve these punishments.)
What caused the need for His death and the wrath of God poured out on Him? Unrepentant sin. What causes evil in the world? Unrepentant sin. We have a theory: Were religions and legalism created by men to cover unrepentant sin?
Christ’s first words at the start of His ministry were: Matthew 4:16-17… “16the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.” 17From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
We have seen a great light, and so did the wise men. They were wise because they followed the starlight to the King of the Universe and gave Him gifts. Their wisdom came in obedience to God. We must act in accordance. As we celebrate Jesus Christ birth, let us examine our hearts with the light of the Holy Spirit for unrepentant sin in our lives to be pleasing servants. Then ask Him to empower us to keep His Word which He gladly does! Our gift back to Him so to speak. Immanuel comes in a manger and God is indeed with us!
Forever grateful for His Coming,
Ric and Mary Joyner
Biblestudycompany.com
For Search Engines: There are many bible verses about love, and there are many bible verse of the day programs. The holy bible provides this remarkable bible commentary. Bible Study and online bible study are available at biblestudycompany.com. Bible verses of faith are of interest as well. Even bible verses about hope are helpful. Bible verses about women are encouraging. Read the Bible online with biblestudycompany.com. We will all do better when love is patient love is kind. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me in times of trouble. With daily bible devotions, I grow. The gifts of the holy spirit are for every day. Online bible study is so helpful. biblestudycompany is a free online bible. With so many books of the bible, I can grow. We love inspirational bible verses in daily Bible reading.
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Bible Study Company has a new nonprofit. The name is Praiseworthy Life. We hope you will consider supporting the ministry to keep BSC free to users. Here is the link: http://bit.ly/2RL9zTm
We have grown over the last two years to 1300 plus Facebook followers and literally thousands of views on podcasts and videos. Several hundred visit the website, and we have 413 users to date. A user is someone who logs in and takes notes. Through BSC the gospel is going forward, especially in these dark times. The purposes of asking for support are:
1. Monthly expenses to run a website and,
2. Create new features and,
3. Create content for the BSC, and that can be distributed to spread discipleship and the gospel message
Bible Study Company is a community of believers studying scripture to live a praiseworthy life to Jesus Christ. To be a disciple we need to take the posture of obedience to His Word and Christ is the Word.
We are: An online study Bible with a social media community
Our mission: Studying Scripture to live a praiseworthy life
Our vision: That a “Company” of believers are studying Scripture to live a praiseworthy life
Our Hope: That Pew-sitters move to disciple and then to disciple teachers bearing fruit for Christ
BSC is not just an e-reader but an online STUDY BIBLE. Here is a short video that discusses the features and is for presenting at a fellowship or group. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxmZGDipIjA&t=35s
Thank you for supporting us!
Ric and Mary Joyner
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Moses escapes Egypt after being rebuffed by his Hebrew Brothers. Mose flees the face of Pharoah. This is interesting because he had a choice to humble himself to Pharoah as a member of the royal house and beg forgiveness. Instead, the "matter" was known to both Pharoah and Moses which was the prophecy about a deliverer. Moses fled into the wilderness. Will we? Christ went into the wilderness and so did John the Baptist. We must too.
Our sound engineer said this excellent comment about the episode: "I enjoyed listening to it. The parallels of the journey out into wilderness are fascinating. It's something you have in the back of your head, but to think about it the way you guys are here just shows how deep it goes and how much we can learn from it beyond just being aware of the historical happenings."
We discuss Kingdom truths that we can see today. For example, the women who came to the well were 7 in number, and they were daughters. In other words, they were a father's inheritance. So are we. 7 has specific ramifications in scripture, and the fact women took a lead role in the salvation of Moses in chapter 2 are clues. Women in Scripture represent redemption (as the Messiah would come through their seed). Our bible study principle is seeing the symbols of both the physical and the spiritual. God has a grand plan and we can be part of it if we line ourselves up with His purposes and take steps of faith to flee this world system called Egypt. Egypt is not in a far off place with pyramids. It is this world we live in which is growing more anti-Christ every day. We have hope for our redemption. Let's get busy being obedient to Scripture.
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